In direct injection diesel engines, the fuel is injected and distributed ultrafinely (nebulized) by a multihole injection nozzle which reaches directly into the combustion chamber of the engine, instead of being introduced into a prechamber or swirl chamber as in the case of the conventional (chamber) diesel engine. The advantage of direct injection diesel engines lies in their high performance for diesel engines and nevertheless low fuel consumption. Moreover, these engines achieve a very high torque even at low speeds.
At present, essentially three methods are being used for injection of the fuel directly into the combustion chamber of the diesel engine: the conventional distributor injection pump, the pump-nozzle system (unit-injector system or unit-pump system), and the common rail system.
In the common rail system, the diesel fuel is conveyed by a pump with pressures up to 2000 bar into a high-pressure line, the common rail. Proceeding from the common rail, branch lines run to the different injectors which inject the fuel directly into the combustion chamber. The full pressure is always applied to the common rail, which enables multiple injection or a specific injection form. In the other injection systems, in contrast, only a smaller variation in the injection is possible. Injection in the common rail is divided essentially into three groups: (1.) pre-injection, by which essentially softer combustion is achieved, such that harsh combustion noises (“nailing”) are reduced and the engine seems to run quietly; (2.) main injection, which is responsible especially for a good torque profile; and (3.) post-injection, which especially ensures a low NOx value. In this post-injection, the fuel is generally not combusted, but instead vaporized by residual heat in the cylinder. The exhaust gas/fuel mixture formed is transported to the exhaust gas system, where the fuel, in the presence of suitable catalysts, acts as a reducing agent for the nitrogen oxides NOx.
The variable, cylinder-individual injection in the common rail injection system can positively influence the pollutant emission of the engine, for example the emission of nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and especially of particulates (soot). This makes it possible, for example, for engines equipped with common rail injection systems to meet the Euro 4 standard theoretically even without additional particulate filters.
In modern common rail diesel engines, under particular conditions, for example when biodiesel-containing fuels or fuels with metal impurities such as zinc compounds, copper compounds, lead compounds and other metal compounds are used, deposits can form on the injector orifices, which adversely affect the injection performance of the fuel and hence impair the performance of the engine, i.e. especially reduce the power, but in some cases also worsen the combustion. The formation of deposits is enhanced further by further developments in the injector construction, especially by the change in the geometry of the nozzles (narrower, conical orifices with rounded outlet). For lasting optimal functioning of engine and injectors, such deposits in the nozzle orifices must be prevented or reduced by suitable fuel additives.
In the injection systems of modern diesel engines, deposits cause significant performance problems. It is common knowledge that such deposits in the spray channels can lead to a decrease in the fuel flow and hence to power loss. Deposits at the injector tip, in contrast, impair the optimal formation of fuel spray mist and, as a result, cause worsened combustion and associated higher emissions and increased fuel consumption. In contrast to these conventional “external” deposition phenomena, “internal” deposits (referred to collectively as internal diesel injector deposits (IDIDs)) in particular parts of the injectors, such as at the nozzle needle, at the control piston, at the valve piston, at the valve seat, in the control unit and in the guides of these components, also increasingly cause performance problems. Conventional additives exhibit inadequate action against these IDIDs.
The “injection system” is understood to mean the part of the fuel system in motor vehicles from the fuel pump up to and including the injector outlet. “Fuel system” is understood to mean the components of motor vehicles that are in contact with the particular fuel, preferably the region from the tank up to and including the injector outlet.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the inventive compounds counteract deposits not just in the injection system but also in the rest of the fuel system, here especially deposits in fuel filters and pumps.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,719 describes quaternized ammonium salts which are prepared by reacting an alkenylsuccinimide with a monocarboxylic ester and find use as dispersants in lubricant oils for prevention of sludge formation. More particularly, for example, the reaction of polyisobutylsuccinic anhydride (PIBSA) with N,N-dimethylaminopropylamine (DMAPA) and quaternization with methyl salicylate is described. However, use in fuels, more particularly diesel fuels, is not proposed therein. The use of PIBSA with low bismaleation levels of <20% is not described therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,959 describes quaternized ammonium salts of hydrocarbyl-substituted succinimides, which are suitable as detergent additives for gasoline fuel compositions. Quaternization is preferably accomplished using alkyl halides. Also mentioned are organic C2-C8-hydrocarbyl carboxylates and sulfonates. Consequently, the quaternized ammonium salts provided according to the teaching therein have, as a counterion, either a halide or a C2-C8-hydrocarbyl carboxylate or a C2-C8-hydrocarbyl sulfonate group. The use of PIBSA with low bismaleation levels of <20% is likewise not described therein.
EP-A-2 033 945 discloses cold flow improvers which are prepared by quaternizing specific tertiary monoamines bearing at least one C8-C40-alkyl radical with a C1-C4-alkyl ester of specific carboxylic acids. Examples of such carboxylic esters are dimethyl oxalate, dimethyl maleate, dimethyl phthalate and dimethyl fumarate. Uses other than that for improvement of the CFPP value of middle distillates are not demonstrated in EP-A-2 033 945.
WO 2006/135881 describes quaternized ammonium salts prepared by condensation of a hydrocarbyl-substituted acylating agent and of an oxygen or nitrogen atom-containing compound with a tertiary amino group, and subsequent quaternization by means of hydrocarbyl epoxide in the presence of stoichiometric amounts of an acid such as, more particularly, acetic acid. Further quaternizing agents claimed in WO 2006/135881 are dialkyl sulfates, benzyl halides and hydrocarbyl-substituted carbonates, and dimethyl sulfate, benzyl chloride and dimethyl carbonate have been studied experimentally.
WO 2011/146289 describes nitrogen-free additives formed from a substituted hydrocarbon having at least two carboxyl groups in free form or in anhydride form for improving detergency in fuel systems. Examples disclosed include hydrocarbyl-substituted succinic anhydrides and hydrolyzed forms thereof.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel class of polymer-based additives for use in modern diesel fuels and gasoline fuels.